Trump wants to cut red tape, hasten water projects in West

President Donald Trump signs a "Presidential Memorandum Promoting the Reliable Supply and Delivery of Water in the West," during a ceremony on Oct. 19, 2018, in Scottsdale, Arizona. Standing behind him are (from left) Republican U.S. Reps. David Valadao, Kevin McCarthy, Devin Nunes, Jeff Denham and Tom McClintock of California.(Photo: Carolyn Kaster/AP)

DENVER — President Donald Trump has ordered the government to speed up environmental reviews and streamline regulations that he says are hindering work on major water projects in California and other Western states.

Trump on Friday signed a memorandum aimed at helping the Central Valley Project and the California State Water Project in California, the Klamath Irrigation Project in Oregon and California, and the Columbia River Basin system in the Pacific Northwest.

“We will resolve the issues blocking the completion of the Central Valley project,” Trump said in Arizona during a swing through Western states. “I hope you enjoy the water that you’re going to have.”

The Central Valley Project is a federally managed water storage and delivery system that primarily benefits agricultural users in California’s rich farming country in the center of the state.

In this Oct. 30, 2014, photo, houseboats float in the drought-lowered waters of Oroville Lake near Oroville, Calif. The lake is the State Water Project's principal reservoir. The order President Donald Trump signed Oct. 19, 2018, aims to help the State Water Project and others.(Photo: AP file photo)

The State Water Project serves agricultural and urban water users, including Los Angeles and much of sprawling Southern California.

The announcement is a boost for endangered Republican lawmakers in California’s Central Valley facing tough challenges from Democrats looking to take control of the U.S. House.

But it is likely to inflame an ongoing battle in California over divvying up water among cities, farms and environmental needs like the protection of fish.

Farming interests have long pushed to raise Shasta Dam, which holds back California’s largest reservoir as part of the Central Valley Project, by more than 18 feet. The project is opposed by environmentalists who say it would harm threatened fish species and by the Winnemem Wintu tribe, which says it would flood sacred sites.

Several other dams are proposed including Sites Reservoir near Sacramento and Temperance Flat Dam north of Fresno.

“This order stems from ignorance and election year pandering to wealthy Central Valley agribusiness interests,” said John Buse, legal director with the Center for Biological Diversity.

Buse said Trump does not understand complex water issues and ignores the need to protect the environment as well as farming and cities.

“Trump’s view that water is wasted if not used by agriculture or urban users is just idiotic,” he said.

Among other things, Trump’s memorandum orders separate federal agencies to consolidate their environmental reviews of California water projects and the Klamath Irrigation Project.

“From our standpoint, it’s really encouraging and we feel like we’re being listened to,” said Dan Keppen, executive director of the Family Farm Alliance in Klamath, Oregon.

Trump also set a 2020 deadline to finish an environmental review underway in the Columbia River Basin.

The president has long promised to boost water deliveries to California farmers, who have struggled to get by with less during years of drought.

“Today’s action might be the most significant action taken by a president on Western water issues in my lifetime,” said Deputy Interior Secretary David Bernhardt. He said Trump is making good on his promise to take a “more coordinated and thoughtful approach” to managing water while eliminating what he called unneeded burdens.

The memorandum also called for better use of technology in forecasting water supplies and hydropower production, and for exploring desalinization and water recycling.